Péter Szijjártó: Thank you for your patience. We’d like to extend a special welcome to all those who are following us live at home in Hungary. We especially welcome viewers of the public media outlets, ATV, HírTV, Patrióta, Mandiner, and Magyar Nemzet. The sixth bilateral meeting between the Prime Minister and President Donald Trump has just concluded. It was the second here at the White House, with the Prime Minister returning to the Oval Office after six years. The meeting lasted longer than anyone had planned, and the Prime Minister will report to you on the results of the meeting. After that we will take questions – and, of course, provide answers. Prime Minister.
Thank you Péter. Hello everyone.
Thank you for your continued attention and interest. It’s already late at home. We held a Hungarian Day here in Washington – and in fact we’re still holding it: one or two ministers are still in negotiations. So it wasn’t just a summit meeting between the Prime Minister and the President: bilateral ministerial-level negotiations also took place on all matters of important Hungarian interest that fall within the Government’s remit. The Minister for Economy, the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Culture and Innovation – to name just a few – are still in negotiations. And there are also businesspeople, and we’ll receive a summary of the results of their negotiations this evening, local time.
As far as our work is concerned, the most important thing, the obligation that I must now fulfil, is to say that – as you may have heard when we entered the White House – the President of the United States expressed his high regard for Hungary. He sends greetings to the citizens of Hungary and he holds Hungary in high esteem – and perhaps has an even better opinion of them than we ourselves do. He knows the names of Hungarians who have done a great deal for the development of the United States, and he thinks of us not only as a distant country, but as a country whose citizens who have come here have brought much glory and success to the United States. So his expression of high regard is not just diplomatic courtesy, but is more than that: it has real substance, and I felt that his friendship and recognition of Hungary is sincere.
As far as the tone and framework of the negotiations are concerned, I can say that the leaders of two allied states negotiated with each other. We didn’t identify a single issue, not a significant issue, on which the two allied states – one larger and one smaller – differed or were in conflict. So there’s no strategic difference or conflict between the interests of the two countries. But there are quite a few areas of alignment between the interests of the two countries, and there were also issues to be resolved. We discussed these at length.
The first and most important thing is that we managed to defend the reductions in household energy bills. This means that Hungary will continue to have the lowest energy prices in Europe. We’ve created all the necessary preconditions for this, which specifically means that we’ve been granted complete exemption from sanctions in relation to the TurkStream and Druzhba pipelines. No sanctions will restrict Hungary’s supply from these sources, or make it more expensive. This is a general exemption with no time limit. We’ve reached agreement on issues of nuclear cooperation. We’ve agreed that Westinghouse will become involved in Hungary’s nuclear energy industry. This is something new. Americans have never been involved in Hungary’s nuclear energy industry before, but now it’s happening. First, we’ll purchase fuel from Westinghouse. Second, as you’ve written in your articles, there are small modular nuclear reactors, which represent a completely new technology in the history of energy, and in which the Americans have advanced technology. We don’t have this technology ourselves, and we’ve agreed to introduce American technology in Hungary. Next week we’ll need to amend a few laws in Parliament to this end, paving the way for the introduction of this type of small nuclear power plant in Hungary. And thirdly, we’ve agreed to obtain American technology that’s better and more modern than what we use, with the help of which we’ll store spent fuel safely. An important obstacle to cooperation in the field of nuclear energy was that the Biden administration had previously imposed sanctions on the construction of the Paks II Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary. We’d managed to obtain an exemption from these sanctions, but the deadline for this exemption was fast approaching. Our agreement now is not that this sanction, the exemption from this sanction, will be extended, but that the entire sanction will be abolished altogether. Therefore there are no American objections to the construction of the Paks II power plant in Hungary, and no steps are being taken to prevent it. If any such sanctions were imposed up to now, they’re now a thing of the past.
The next important thing we agreed on is that the financial stability of Hungary is in the interest of the United States, and therefore Hungary can count on the United States to help preserve, strengthen, and maintain Hungarian financial stability, which is why we’re also developing new forms of US–Hungarian financial cooperation. We’ve agreed on these points, and negotiations are ongoing and will continue.
After that, we reviewed US investments in Hungary. We asked the President to support these investments and any new investments that follow, both on behalf of the United States and personally. We received this support, so further US investments will be coming to Hungary. To understand the importance of this in the grand scheme of things, it’s worth knowing that there are approximately 1,400 American companies operating in Hungary, 1,400 investments, and approximately 100,000 of our compatriots who earn a living for themselves and their families in these companies. The number of such job opportunities will increase. These investments are typically high-tech investments, so they’re not only important in terms of job creation, but they’ve also raised the technological level of the Hungarian economy, and will continue to do so.
Finally, we concluded an agreement on defence industry issues and space industry cooperation. We’ve designated the cooperating parties, and negotiations are underway. This means American participation in investments in the space industry, it means military cooperation, and access to state-of-the-art defensive weapons, which had previously been blocked by the Biden administration.
And, of course, we talked at length about the issues of war and peace. I can summarise this wide-ranging conversation and negotiation in two sentences. The first is that peace-making must continue, with both governments determined to continue their peace-building efforts, and Hungary expressly offering its own capabilities in assisting the President of the United States in achieving peace in the Ukrainian–Russian war. And the second sentence is that the Budapest meeting is on the agenda, and although no one can say exactly when it will be, this meeting will take place in Budapest when the conditions are right.
Péter, that’s all, right?
Péter Szijjártó: That’s right, thank you very much. Thank you very much, Prime Minister. Well, in return for your patience, we’ll now take questions. At the beginning of the President’s meeting, I was able to learn how to moderate a press conference even under very difficult circumstances, so I’ll try to do that now.
In any case, we can say that, compared to your American colleagues, your situation is very good. We’ve all seen that.
Péter Szijjártó: For example, you’re sitting down. Well, go ahead! So, if anyone has a question, please indicate – and we’ll start with Ildikó. Ildikó, go ahead.
Ildikó Csuhaj: Thank you very much. Ildikó Csuhaj, public media. During the press conference at your meeting in the White House, when President Trump was asked about US sanctions on Russian oil and energy sources, he said that they’d examine that issue with regard to European countries. Prime Minister, have I understood correctly that during your meeting, President Trump said that he’d exempt Hungary from all sanctions imposed on Russian oil and natural gas, without any time limit?
What the President predicted at the press conference happened: we sat down and examined the situation. As a result of our examination, we concluded that Hungary is in a significantly different situation from other European countries, and that if sanctions continue to be imposed on two key pipelines in this regard it won’t be possible to maintain a secure energy supply for Hungary, or to provide affordable energy to Hungarian families and businesses. We examined this, made our assessment, and then, given the situation, we asked the President to lift these sanctions. We asked for two pipelines to be exempted from all sanctions. One is the pipeline that brings natural gas from the south, and the other is the pipeline that brings oil from the east. We reached an agreement, the President made a decision, and he said that the sanctions won’t be applied to those two pipelines.
Ildikó Csuhaj: Thank you. You said that there would be one question each, so I’ll ask Minister Szijjártó too...
Péter Szijjártó: Oh, is that how you took it? That’s a very innovative interpretation! Each of you can ask one question – but Ildikó, since you have the floor, please go ahead.
Ildikó Csuhaj: Thank you very much.
Péter Szijjártó: I can only answer with the permission of the Prime Minister, so let’s start like that.
Ildikó Csuhaj: Minister, you signed a nuclear energy agreement with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. I don’t know if these figures are accurate, but I’d ask the Minister to confirm the report from Bloomberg that the small modular reactors would cost 20 billion dollars, that Westinghouse would supply fuel to Paks for 100 billion dollars, and there are reports of a purchase of US-supplied LNG worth several hundred billion. I have another question related to this, if you’d be so kind as to allow me. In Bratislava/Pozsony recently the Polish president held talks with President Pellegrini of Slovakia, during which he assured him that Poland is ready to supply US liquefied natural gas to Slovakia. Does Hungary have a need for this? Thank you.
Péter Szijjártó: I’ve already failed as far as conducting the press conference is concerned. So that wouldn’t have worked at the lunch. With the Prime Minister’s permission, I’ll briefly answer the question about nuclear cooperation. So the agreement was signed by my counterpart the US Secretary of State and myself. The information is correct in that it contains three points, but that’s all: the delivery of fuel elements is worth approximately 100 million dollars, so there’s no question of 100 billion dollars.
100 million dollars.
Péter Szijjártó: That’s right, 100 million dollars. If we’d had a choice, we’d rather not. This is necessary because the Hungarian economy’s energy needs will increase in the coming period: Hungarian nuclear capacity will grow, and so – in addition to our existing supply relationships – we’ll also need new fuel elements. So we’ll procure American fuel elements, while maintaining our existing supply relationships.
Excuse me, Péter, if I understand correctly, that means we’ll be using Russian...
Péter Szijjártó: That’s right.
...we’ll be using French...
Péter Szijjártó: That’s right
...and we’ll also be using American.
Péter Szijjártó: American too.
So we’ll be standing on three legs.
Péter Szijjártó: That’s right. That’s the core meaning of diversification, isn’t it? Diversification doesn’t mean replacing one source with another, but adding another source to the existing one, because that means security. As for small modular power plants, the amount will depend on how many small modular reactors we ultimately decide to build. This will be an economic strategy decision. The Hungarian economy is constantly breaking investment records, huge factories are being built in Hungary, thousands and tens of thousands of new jobs are being created in Hungary, and these power plants could be used to supply them with electricity. The question is how much. The figure of 20 billion dollars is accurate if there will be roughly ten to twelve power plants – which means it can be calculated that if there are five or six, then it will be roughly 10 billion dollars. Finally, the technology for storing nuclear fuel elements will cost somewhere between 100 and 200 million dollars – so that’s not in the billions either. And this is technology which means that we won’t even have to remove the spent fuel from Paks. So when we use nuclear energy, the safety and health of the Hungarian people and protection of the environment come first. This is the story.
LNG.
Péter Szijjártó: In the case of LNG, the purchase of liquefied gas, what the Prime Minister referred to also applies here: we’re diversifying, adding new sources to our existing gas supply sources. MVM already has two long-term contracts for LNG purchases in the West, one with ENGIE, a French company, and one with Shell; and negotiations are well underway to add to the list an American company, with which we’ll sign a five-year long-term contract. The total volume is estimated at around two billion cubic metres, or 400 million cubic metres per year. I won’t disclose the amount at this point, because we’re still negotiating the price, and if I mention a figure...
Yes, let’s leave it at that.
Péter Szijjártó: ...that’s how the story goes. From now on everyone has one question, not for each of us, but one question per questioner.
Dániel Bohár: Prime Minister, when we were traveling here, you said that there was a danger that had to be averted. If I understand correctly, by protecting the reductions in household energy bills this danger has now been averted. What’s the significance of this in terms of the lives of the Hungarian people?
When we came here, we were in serious trouble, we were up to our necks in water – or perhaps the situation was even worse than that. We’ve now pulled ourselves out of this, so we’re over the worst, which fortunately didn’t last long. A couple of weeks ago the Americans announced the sanctions regime that they’re generally applying to Russian energy, regardless of which country is affected. We’re not the first: other countries have also requested some kind of exemption – for example, the Germans requested an exemption for a refinery, to be precise. This general sanctions regime would have devastated us. Imagine if from the end of November every Hungarian household had to pay two and a half times – or possibly three times – as much on their energy bills as they did in October or November. So, measured by Hungarian standards, this would have meant an unbearable price increase for households – not to mention businesses, many of which would have gone bankrupt, closed down, and left us with a huge number of unemployed people. That was the danger. I didn’t want to dramatise this, for a long time we didn’t talk about it, and I only spoke about it with the necessary emphasis for the first time on the plane. But the fact is that we were in a vice, or already had the noose around our necks. We had to get ourselves out of that situation. This happened today, thanks mainly to Minister Péter Szijjártó, because the final decision is in his hands. By the time we got there today, after a relatively long discussion about what to do, we’d formed convincing arguments – convincing arguments presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs during the preparatory phase – which the US president was able to agree to. And then a huge weight was lifted from the hearts of the delegation members, and we didn’t have to deal with contingency plans B, C and D, because we’d finally resolved the issue.
Eszter Zavaros (TV2): Good afternoon. Thank you very much for giving me the floor, Minister. I’d like to ask the Prime Minister whether restoration of the agreement on the avoidance of double taxation was also a very important point and goal for the Hungarian government during its visit to Washington. What’s the current status of this matter? Has a decision been made?
No decision has been made; it’s still under negotiation.
Vilmos Velkovics (HírTV): I’d like to ask the Prime Minister whether the fact that the organisation of the Budapest peace summit remains on the agenda means that we’re getting closer to it, or are we treading water? How can this be expressed in centimetres, minutes, hours?
I think that prior to the negotiations at the press conference, or whatever it was, a conversation with the press, the President said twice that we’re close enough for this to happen soon. But we’re no closer than we were yesterday or the day before yesterday. So the open questions that are preventing an agreement, a ceasefire, or a peace agreement are the same today as they were a week or two ago.
Vilmos Velkovics (HírTV): So these are reasons beyond our control.
Király Cs. Tamás (Ultrahang): I’m very tempted to ask where Karoline [Leavitt] is, but I won’t ask that. Instead, I’d like to know the following. If I understand correctly, the sanctions didn’t apply to the pipelines, but to the companies, the energy companies. How is it possible for Lukoil and other Russian companies to transport their crude oil and natural gas through these pipelines?
Yes.
Király Cs. Tamás (Ultrahang): Thank you very much.
That’s why this is an art.
Király Cs. Tamás (Ultrahang): In other words, in the case of Hungary, Russian companies were also exempted from these sanctions.
We made an offer that was easy for them to accept, but the extent of benefit for us is not yet clear. In reality that’s the situation. Anything could come through that pipeline.
Máté Kulifai (Hetek): My question to the Prime Minister is that at the press conference, you mentioned that you have ideas and thoughts on how to bring the parties closer to resolving the war in Ukraine. Did you share these with Donald Trump? Which of these are public, and how did the US president receive these arguments, thoughts and ideas?
I did indeed make suggestions, but we’re not discussing these publicly at this time.
Csongor Gáll (Index): Prime Minister, about a month ago, when you visited us, we talked about how we’re pretty much the last country in Europe where the United States is investing more money than it’s taking out. Is this still the case following this agreement and the recent negotiations? I’d also like to ask whether this will bring down the price of daily essentials, as this is a recurring criticism. Translated into the language of Hungarian families, the question is what benefits will come out of the current negotiations, and why families will be better off after this American visit.
I repeat: if this agreement hadn’t been reached today, in December energy bills for every household would be two and a half to three times higher than they are today. We’ve managed to protect ourselves from that problem. American investments create jobs in which people work and earn an income. These are well-paid, highly skilled jobs, so they’ll raise the standard of living in Hungary. It’s also true – and this didn’t need to be discussed – that Hungary also has investments in the United States. It’s no coincidence that there are quite a few Hungarian businesspeople here, meaning that Hungarian companies are investing significant amounts of money in the United States. Less is said about these, but Hungary has outgrown the status of merely receiving investments. Now we’re investing abroad, which is also a reality, although “kifektet”, or “outvest” isn’t perhaps the most elegant Hungarian expression. Not only are others investing here, but we’re also investing elsewhere, including in the United States. It was no coincidence that I asked the leaders of large Hungarian companies to come along, because I’m convinced that there’s never been such an opportunity before; and I don’t know when there will be such a favourable environment – both politically and commercially – for Hungarian investors to do good business in the United States. We’ve now opened all the doors, our star is in the ascendant, Hungary’s reputation and recognition are excellent, and the entire United States has seen the political support behind Hungary. Now, if there are good offers, talented businesspeople and investment plans, they can be realised in the United States. Now Hungarians can do business in the United States. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and of course it’s good for the Hungarian economy.
Dániel Kacsoh (Mandiner): If I understand correctly, this decision on the crude oil embargo will also have some impact on the EU’s sanctions policy, as there’s a European country that’s exempt from an American decision. Have you received any calls, Prime Minister, from anyone else who might want to join this group, which currently only includes us? Because it’s not certain that this decision [to impose sanctions] would only have had negative consequences for us.
I wouldn’t try looking inside other people’s heads right now. I’ll do that at home. What I can say now, just to make the situation clear, is that in the energy system and energy supply system there’s a system of American sanctions, and a system of Brussels sanctions. What we’ve just discussed is the American sanctions system. We’ve pulled ourselves out of that. The fight against the European sanctions system – how we can stay out of it – is another battle that must be fought in Brussels. That will take place sometime in December.
Andrea Hagyánek (origo.hu): Prime Minister, what was the President’s opinion on the outcome of the war, and how do you see the chances for peace now?
Well, I’m gathering some very interesting experiences on such occasions – not only in Washington, but also when I’m negotiating with European leaders. There’s something that I think is obvious to almost all of us in Hungary. I may be wrong, and it may not be as widely accepted as I think, but I believe it’s obvious. It is that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia on the battlefield. I think for every Hungarian this is as obvious as one plus one, or A,B,C. In contrast, here in America and in large European countries, the question is being asked as if it were an open question: Who will win? So there’s a belief that Ukraine can win this war against Russia on the front lines. And they ask me about this: What’s the Hungarian position, what do we think about it? And I can only say what I said to the American president today: that the Ukrainians can win; well, there are such things as miracles...
István Pócza (Mandiner): Prime Minister, President Trump mentioned that in many respects the European Union is taking a different path. And you’ve said that you’ll deal with this issue. Did the US president indicate that he might be interested in becoming more involved in European politics?
The American president is interested in European politics, since, after all, we belong to the same alliance camp. We’re talking about transatlantic cooperation, which has two sides: just as Europeans are interested in what’s happening in America, Americans are interested in what’s happening in Europe. This is completely natural within such an alliance system. I wanted to make it clear that I’ll never ask anyone for any outside help in resolving our disputes within the European Union. We’re strong enough, our positions are good enough, and we have sufficient tools at our disposal to win these battles on our own, with our own national resources. That’s what I wanted to say in the few sentences you’ve just referred to. The United States – as I understand it today – doesn’t want to interfere in European affairs. There are issues that are important to both Europe and the United States, there are areas where there’s agreement, and there are areas where there are differences of opinion. And where there are differences of opinion, America wants to win the debate with Europe in its only interests. In contrast, I believe that the correct European approach is to continuously put forward proposals on the table regarding US–EU cooperation that are good for both sides, that don’t condemn us to defeat, and also give the Americans what they want. This is referred to as creating win-win situations. There are always such situations. I consider the agreement on tariff matters concluded by the European Union with the United States to be of very poor quality: it’s a professionally substandard, shameful, terrible agreement. I believe that in some major European capitals – and not only in Budapest – much better proposals could have been put on the table, and we could have reached a better agreement than the one negotiated here by the Brussels bureaucracy. That’s my opinion, but it doesn’t mean that either of us will interfere in the other’s affairs. Rather, there are issues on which interests diverge, and reconciling them requires a certain amount of intellectual effort, as well as political effort. And Europe isn’t doing well in this regard: the Americans are essentially steamrolling us. That’s where we stand today.
Ákos Bittó (Blikk): Minister, I’d like to ask you whether we’ll continue to invest in space technology. If I understand correctly, we’re close to reaching an agreement with an American space technology company. To put it simply, will there be a Hungarian space station, and when will there be another Hungarian astronaut?
Péter Szijjártó: May I answer?
Of course!
Péter Szijjártó: Today we met with the leaders of Voyager Technologies. Voyager Technologies is the American company that’s embarked on the construction of the first commercial space station, and according to current plans, this commercial space station will be launched in 2029. As you know, the current International Space Station is nearing the end of its service life, so a new space station needs to be launched. Today we agreed on the following. After forty-five years, this year we Hungarians have successfully completed another manned space mission, regaining our reputation in space technology. And now we can say without any boastfulness that we’re no longer looking for partners to collaborate with, but instead partners are coming to us. The agreement with Voyager Technologies stipulates that Hungarian space industry companies will contribute to the construction of the new commercial space station to be launched, and Voyager will make investments in Hungary accordingly. We’ll cooperate in the training necessary for the next manned space mission, and in addition space technology developments, experiments to be carried out in space, and their follow-up will also be implemented as part of a joint programme. When we successfully completed this year’s manned space mission, we trained another astronaut who completed exactly the same training as the astronaut who was launched into space; so we now have a trained astronaut, and not sending him into space would be a huge missed opportunity. So this is happening within the framework of major Hungarian–American cooperation. This is a new dimension of cooperation. In addition to nuclear cooperation, the space industry is an area that we’ve now added to this success story.
Péter, may I say something about this? Here we’ve mostly been talking about energy. But energy isn’t the future. The industry and economy of the future lie elsewhere. We’ve talked a lot about this today, and we’ll continue to do so with the Americans and others in the period ahead. So the entire global economy is on the cusp of a technological revolution. This is an extremely rapid process. We believe we understand this process, we’re trying to get involved in it: artificial intelligence, the space industry, telecommunications, to name just a few key sectors. Energy is a prerequisite for these. So in the new world that will soon be unfolding before our eyes in technological terms we’ll be using a lot of energy, but not to heat our homes, because that’s more or less fixed, but we’ll need new capacities for extremely energy-intensive modern, new technology. These huge banks of processing units which form the basis of the modern, new global economy, require enormous amounts of energy to store, process, and use data. Today we talked about energy, but that’s not the goal: it’s only a means to an end. The goal is to create a completely new, 21st-century, modern Hungarian economy. This is why we discussed the space industry, the defence industry, and the issue of state-of-the-art technologies. Of course everyone at home now sees everything in the context of the election, but it’s worth sometimes lifting our heads above this and seeing that Hungary needs to make a huge transformation in its economy if it wants to remain among the countries of the modern global economy. Artificial intelligence, space exploration, and so on. So, although terms such as the space industry and the like still sound like science fiction, they’ll soon become part of everyday technology, which is why we need to get involved in these ventures now. Thank you, Péter.
Péter Szijjártó: Prime Minister, thank you very much. Thank you all very much for your patience. Thank you to those who have been following us at home at what we could call this late hour. Thank you very much for your attention, and we’ll see you soon at home. Goodbye.
All the best! Goodbye!